In today’s industries, businesses are trying hard to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. They have to be different. They have to offer more specialized products and services. No longer is this a battle of providing a better product. It is about what your business can exclusively offer to your customers. Now more than ever, consumers are concerned about their social status, whether in real life or on social media. For them to wear a tailored suit or own a customized sofa is something they can brandish about on their social media accounts.
The manufacturing sector, including the areas of custom metal fabrication, made it possible for companies to avail of low-cost customized products through mass customization. How does this work? A company mass produces a prototype of a product, which can be customized with a range of different features. These add-on features will depend on the customers’ demands. It allows businesses to offer customized products without asking the consumer to shoulder the cost of producing a 100% unique product.
Examples of Mass Customization
A company that sells phone covers, for example, can mass-produce them in their most basic form. They can produce the covers in different sizes and models without color or design. But by offering its customers to design their own phone covers, the company has already upped its game. Although its consumers have the same phone model, they could customize it with the design they want.
In retail, tailor shops can mass-produce tuxedos and suits, but still offer customization services. Men are particular about the fit of their suits. These kinds of tailor shops can customize suits according to their customers’ measurements. They have already mass-produced the suits, but with a bit of tweaking, their customers feel as if these are specially tailored for them.
How about in automobiles? Some auto companies are offering their customers the chance to pick the color, design, interiors, decals, and engines. While two people will have the same car model, they will look different because of their preferences in color, design, and performance.
Even in the finance sector, mass customization works like a charm. An insurance agent, for example, already has basic insurance packages to offer to you. But with add-ons, you can design these policies according to your needs. You can add a dependent and even invest half of the money in stocks. Customers are allowed to customize the policy according to the risks they are willing to take.
Benefits of Mass Customization
It is easy to see why many businesses are starting to notice the advantages of mass customization. Answering the consumers’ need to be unique and different is hard when they are also not willing to pay premium prices for customization. That is why businesses have started to mass-produce their products in the most basic of packages.
Are you trying to set your business apart from all the others that offer the same products? You might want to take a look at the mass customization of products. You can create personalized and customized products for a fraction of a cost. These are products that your customers will be willing to pay extra for. It also shows innovativeness, which is something customers want in a company.
